Himari woke up in the early morning, Itachi firmly attached to her. He had his arms wrapped around her waist, his face pressing against her back, as his body pressed along the back of her body. She smirked - of course he was a cuddler.
"Good morning," she heard a mutter.
She laughed. "Good morning. Comfortable?" she asked.
"Yeah," he grumbled.
"You want breakfast?" she asked.
"Not yet," he groaned.
She flipped around to face him, scooting down to be more eye level with him. "Want more cuddle time?" she whispered.
He nodded. "Yeah." Then shoved his face into her neck.
They laid there for a while, Himari running her fingers over Itachi, and Itachi snuggling all over Himari. They chatted a bit on and off before getting up to shower. They showered together, and Itachi insisted on washing her… leading to getting dirty again.
After finishing up they finally enjoyed breakfast and Itachi sat back in his chair, sighing while he looked out at the orchard. "I am very comfortable, but I have to go," he said.
Himari nodded, looking down. "I figured. It's okay, though - a traveler can't stay put long," she smiled.
Itachi sighed. "Yep."
After breakfast he got ready. Back in his cloak and hat, Himari walked with him a little ways away from the house. They stopped, looking at each other.
"Meeting you was a beautiful chance that I'm glad I took," she smiled at him, touching his cheek softly.
He smiled. "Likewise." He leaned down, kissing her one more time, before he turned away and began walking.
After a minute, Himari turned around and headed back inside. She shed a tear or two, but busied herself with her day - he wasn't the first traveler she'd met, and he won't be the last. He was just a bit more handsome than most, she thought. And more interesting… and fun.
The rest of summer passed without incident. She sold her produce at the market, had fun with friends, and come the end of summer, she was ready to sell her weavings and other wares. It was a productive season as the village was expecting especially cold weather, so she was also working on many other projects.
On two occasions, she came home to a gift on her front stoop. The first time was after her first big market of the end of summer. She approached the door where there was a tall paper bag. Cautiously looking inside of it, she found a bottle wrapped in an insulating cloth. It was a bottle of red wine from the land of lightning. Searching the bottle and bag, she didn't find a note or mention of who it was from or for. She figured it might be from a previous visitor, or was intended for someone else. She kept it in her kitchen for a while in case anyone came for it, but no one did, so she moved it to her small cellar.
The second time it was on her back porch a few months later when the weather was beginning to turn cool, set out on the small table she sat at when the weather was nice. Wrapped in plain paper and twine she opened it gently to find a nicely woven cardigan. It was black with a beautiful, intricate red accent in the fabric that looked like a variety of flowers. The yarn was high quality - she wasn't sure where it might have been from, and once again there wasn't a note of any kind, but she wasn't opposed to keeping this. It'd be perfect for the fall weather.
Just a week or so later, Himari was out back sipping a cup of hot tea. She was wearing jeans, boots, a long sleeved shirt, and her mysterious cardigan - it was soft, comfortable, and had become her regular outer garment for the season. A bit of fog hung around the area and she pondered what all she could do with the apples this year. Definitely some more cider, maybe some of it into apple cider vinegar… the possibilities were almost endless, so she had a number of apple trees.
A dark figure appeared in some of the fog. She watched it, trying to determine the direction of travel. She decided after a few moments that it was heading towards her. Himari decided to step inside, watching from the kitchen window, in case she needed a knife for an encounter.
Soon the figure was almost visible in her yard and she noted a familiar shape to it - a black cloak, and a straw hat. She was flabbergasted, but couldn't help smiling. She stepped back onto the back porch, tentatively calling out, "Hello?"
The figure came into view and she saw Itachi smiling slightly, beginning to remove his hat. "Hi, stranger," he said.
Himari laughed and trotted out to him, giving him a big hug that he reciprocated. "Come in!" she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him in.
A small fire was going in the fireplace to help cut through the damp cold that was in the air. Itachi set his things down, removing his cloak, and Himari got more hot tea ready. They sat by one another on the small couch, both smiling slightly.
"How have you been?" she asked.
He sipped the tea, leaning back and laying a hand on her leg. "Well. Tired, but well," he began. "You look good in that," he commented.
Himari touched the cardigan he had glanced at. She made a questioning face. "Were the gifts from you?" she asked.
He shrugged. "You have good taste in wine, and I figured you'd appreciate specialty weaving from other lands," he said, sipping the tea again.
She laughed, giving in to her urge to curl up with him, and scooted right next to him. She leaned on him a bit, her legs pulled up under her, and set her head on his shoulder. He rested his head on hers and rubbed her leg gently.
"I hope you had fun though," she whispered. "I did here. Things have sold well, and I've made friends."
Itachi nodded. "I'm glad. I had some fun, too."
They spent a few days together. Himari was hesitant to ask how long Itachi would be staying, because she knew it wouldn't be for long regardless. She was trying to not get too attached but it was so hard - something about him just felt like comfort, and warmth, and happiness. She hoped he felt the same, even though that almost made parting even worse.
The first snow of the year, they woke up and watched the snow fall. It was enough to coat the ground, and by mid-day, there were a few inches. The snow slowed by then so the duo stepped outside to enjoy throwing some of the powder at each other. After, they went inside to warm up and drink tea. Cuddled up on the couch again, Itachi let her know. "I'll be heading out tomorrow," he grunted.
Himari nodded. "Alright."
"Is that all you have to say?" he inquired.
She shrugged. "I could ask you to stay, of course, but I have some feeling that the answer would always be no," she whispered. "Itachi, I feel some special connection with you. And something tells me you have a deeper meaning in your life, and that you probably won't be settling anytime soon. Would you say that's true?"
Itachi was staring at the ground. "Yeah, I'd say that's true," he whispered. "I don't know how you know, but yeah."
Himari gave his cheek a kiss. "If you ever wanted to stop traveling, to relax and do something else, be a ninja here… you should know you're welcome here, Itachi," she told him. "Some people think this might be a big deal, but I think more people should be more courageous and just say this, but I know I love you. I might not know you very deeply, but I know how you make me feel."
He looked at her for a long while. She could swear his eyes looked a little glassy, but he smiled softly. "I agree. I love you too. If I'm ever able to stay somewhere, I'd gladly choose anywhere with you."
The following morning, Himari made sure Itachi had plenty of supplies without going overboard on the weight, and gave him a warm hat and gloves. "Even if you end up not needing them, give them to someone in need," she told him.
He smiled. "I'll definitely be using them, unless someone in greater need comes across my path. Your blanket is the warmest I've ever used."
Himari smiled proudly. "I have a new box on my front porch - it looks like a side table by the door. The side actually opens. If you decide to leave gifts and not say hi, you can put them there… But the real reason I have it is I'll put a letter there whenever I write one, if I'm thinking of you. Don't carry them if you don't want - just leave them if you want to, I'll get rid of them after you read them…" she was rambling.
Itachi leaned down and kissed her. "Okay. I might start leaving a letter when I pass by then, too."
They shared a few more kisses and words, and Himari held back tears as Itachi left once again, a dark spot on the snow. Itachi didn't let it show, but when he left he was holding back tears, too.
